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The sixty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 12 to 23 March 2018. Women of faith are present to affirm the rights of women and girls and to advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals. Let’s send our prayers to them!

The theme of this Commission is “Empowering Rural Women and Girls.” It reminds us of the theme for World Day of Prayer 2018, “All God’s Creation is Very Good.” Women and girls are part of God’s Creation and those living and working in the rural areas of the world are more likely to be negatively impacted by climate change, land grabbing, forced migration and economic inequalities.

Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are welcome to attend the session.

Themes

Priority theme:
Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls;

Review theme:
Participation in and access of women to the media, and information and communications technologies and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women (agreed conclusions of the forty-seventh session)

The World Day of Prayer 2018 is soon to be celebrated around the world on Friday the 2nd of March.

Suriname as the theme country is very excited and also humbled to be the center of all your prayers.
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We enjoy and thank you all for your interest in our country, culture, music, artwork and the service. It was very beautiful to see and hear about all of your preparations for the different services. The Suriname committee is very proud and enthusiastic as well, and we have also brought this celebration to the attention of our government.

However, along with the enthusiasm to celebrate we must also reflect on the fact that we have to take better care of our environment and of God’s creation. God prepared and created a world for us that was very good. Unfortunately we did not appreciate what we got as a gift, and treated it very poorly. Today we, and also the whole creation, suffer from the damages that we have brought to it mostly because of our greed and strive for comfort and/or convenience.

The earth where we have to live in is suffering. Our rivers, oceans and air are polluted, the ozone layer is damaged, and many countries suffer from terrible disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis and so on. Even the animals in the rivers and seas get wrapped up in our plastic waste. Beautiful creatures go extinct because we do not care enough to stop hunting them. Many children are born with disabilities because of the pollution in the rivers and the air. In the various visits we brought to the government we also expressed our concern for our environment.

Today and every other day, we the women of the Suriname World Day of Prayer committee want and will take a stand to plead for God’s creation.

We will confess our shortcomings before God and ask Him to forgive us and to help us be better care takers of His very good creation.

Since 1887, on or near the first Friday in March every year, millions of Christians have gathered worldwide to pray for the issues of family violence, child abuse, human trafficking, and other forms of injustice.

In 2018 that prayerful support will be directed at the 540,000 inhabitants of the Republic of Suriname, on the north-eastern coast of South America.

Despite a history steeped in slavery and political coups, this tiny nation has achieved remarkable progress since its independence in 1975.

Suriname enjoys multi-ethnicity and biodiversity, freedom of religion, free primary and secondary education, and free medical care for children and seniors.

But behind closed doors, family violence, abuse and neglect are ongoing issues. Children are particularly vulnerable, many growing up in orphanages or one-parent families. While education is free, there is no compulsory school attendance. Child labour in the form of street selling is common, but of far more serious concern is the fact that many children are labouring in the gold mines of Suriname.

You are invited to join us in prayer for the needs of Suriname and its people at a World Day of Prayer service or event near you.

I am Alice Pomstra – Elmont, born on 20 January 1947 in a very special place in Suriname. I am a member of the Hervormde gemeente (Dutch Reformed Church). At an environment exhibition, I was asked to participate in designing a cover for WDP program.

I was born on the ship ‘Paramaribo’ in the Cottica River near Mocca in the District of Marowijne. My mother was travelling from Paramaribo to Moengo, which in those days could only be done by boat. After I turned 6, my parents moved to Paramaribo, the capital, where I spent most of my youth. I worked in general education in Suriname where my creativity soared. After some years, I moved to the Netherlands where I worked in special education. By working with children with disabilities I learned to enjoy the little things. Now that I live in Suriname again, I enjoy this wonderful country with its rich nature. It is delightful to see the sun rise in the morning and see the birds flying. What a precious gift. Let us keep it as beautiful as we received it.

We live in a beautiful country that we received from our Creator. I see this as a special gift that we must cherish – a beautiful nature with wonderful forests and mountains that boasts great rivers with impressive rapids. It is a rich country with beautiful flowers and animals, but also sufficient food for everyone. Let us cherish this beautiful gift so that we can pass it on in its beautiful state to the coming generations.

The painting:

Here we symbolically see the hands that receive the divine gift and pass it on to the next generations. Every day the sun shines over the land where animals and plants have found a place. The vegetables and fruit tell us that there is enough food for everyone. The blue hummingbird, the white ibis and the macaw are a few of the many bird species our country boasts. The blue frog (okopipi) is one of the protected animal species that can only be found in Suriname. The red and yellow heliconia is native to our country and the majestic kapok (ceiba) tree is a beautiful giant in our forest. The Voltzberg (Voltz Mountain) is one of Suriname’s many granite mountains. The seven women symbolize all women in Suriname who cherish this gift to pass it on to their children. Seven also symbolizes the seven days of God’s creation.

Program written by the
World Day of Prayer Committee of Suriname for WDP 2018
Genesis 1:1-31A heri grontapu di Gado meki bun doro, dóro!

As in the beginning, God created from chaos. But everything that was created found its place in creation. All were related to each other – the earth with the light, the waters with the sky, the tree seeds with the living creatures, and the humankind with God. None could exist without the other, and the source of all was God.

There was goodness in that integrated system of relationships. But essential to that was the commitment to care. And we know that we are failing!

Women from Suriname lift up their voices to remind us that we are caretakers of God’s creation! They are bringing to our attention the urgent need for caring at a time when more than 180 countries have signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. A commitment to keep the earth cooler depends on public policies implemented by governments, but also on our personal lifestyle.

As one of our Guiding Principles affirms “prayer is rooted in listening to God and to one another.” Through the worship service, we listen to the multicultural and multi-ethnic people of Suriname. They take us to their communities and through their concerns. History is before our eyes! The flora and fauna are remarkable! The everyday life is weaved into the prayers.

How good is God’s creation? That is the question to meditate and respond to with a personal commitment to care for creation. But it can also be an opportunity for the WDP motto “Informed prayer and prayerful action” to be affirmed in the community. What is it that we, as the WDP movement, can do to keep God’s creation good?

Ruth Mariet Trueba Castro is the artist for the World Day of Prayer 2016 theme.
Ruth Mariet Trueba Castro lives in Jaimanita, in the city of Habana. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts San Alejandro, Habana, 2009; and from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA); major in Plastic Arts, Habana, 2014.
She is a member of the Methodist Church in Jaimanita, Habana, Cuba. She is currently coordinating the Liturgical Renewal Program of the Cuban Council of Churches.
She has won awards at numerous events and competitions for Literature, in the genres of poetry, short stories and epistle. She belongs to the Asociación Hermanos Saiz for young artists. In the past five years Ruth Mariet has participated in several exhibitions and collective productions as a member of the collective art “the 4th Pragmatics”. She has also participated in biennials and art fairs: Eleventh Biennial of Habana, Cuba – 1 Triennial Offside Effect. Tbilisi, Georgia. – Handcrafts. XVII International Art Fair. Moscow, Russia – ArtFest @ 2013. Doral Miami Campus of Carlos Albizu University. Miami, United States.
Although I can explain in a rational way the drawing, based on the symbolic elements that I used: the palms, the windows, the hands and the colors of the Cuban flag, I wanted to complement the art of drawing with the art of words, which is the poetry.
On the threshold of childhood
We open the door to the childhood within us and Jesus enters
As light transcends the stained glass windows
It is made flesh on the games of laughter
As child hugs the palms
In the middle of the day.
Our prayer is like a sparkling pupil
Sweat from white, yellow, and black hands.
Who receive Jesus, once again
Along with all who are waiting
On the threshold of childhood.

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER
Prepared by the Cuban WDP Committee
March 4th, 2016
“Receive children. Receive me.”
Receive children. Receive me is the theme for the 2016 WDP celebration prepared by the WDP women in Cuba. The art to illustrate the theme was created by Ruth Mariet Trueba Castro. “The WDP theme suggests welcoming and openness. The image evokes a welcome door, a path, an openness to hope. We are on a permanent journey. These human beings, whom I imagined as a mother and a child, in the miscegenation of Cuban families, enjoy a walk in the countryside, which is the concrete and living environment of many children in Cuba.” – Ruth Mariet Trueba Castro. Gracias, Ruth!

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The World Day of Prayer is an international ecumenical Christian laywomen’s initiative. It is run under the motto “Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action,” and is celebrated annually in over 170 countries on the first Friday in March. The movement aims to bring together women of various races, cultures and traditions in a yearly common Day of Prayer, as well as in closer fellowship, understanding and action throughout the year.

Verse of the Day

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. — Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)